Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has said that Mt Kenya people, who are seemingly divided will vote in the 2022 General Election based on guidance from President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Speaking at the Skiza Thanksgiving Ceremony in Gatanga Murang’a County on Tuesday, July 27, Waiguru warned presidential candidates including Deputy President William Ruto that Mt Kenya people will move in one direction during the 2022 presidential elections.
“Those who have come out to vie for the presidency should know the region goes in one direction during elections, people (take money from anyone) but on that day, we will follow the direction given by the President in accordance to the handshake (with Raila Odinga),” she said.
It is understood that Kenya’s biggest voting bloc of Mt Kenya is divided down the middle over what analysts attribute to the 2022 succession politics.
The bloc which has in the recent past boasted of close to 4.5 million votes as per the 2017 electoral register, has been divided between the Kieleweke (allied to the Uhuru, Raila handshake) and Tanga Tanga political faction (allied to deputy president William Ruto).
A further rift has emerged pitting the camps between the West (Kikuyu community) and the East (Meru, Embu, and Mbeere communities) of Mt. Kenya.
Although analysts claim the rift between the GEMA communities is doomed to work in favor of Raila Odinga, other presidential hopefuls including William Ruto have taken control of a slice of the mountain if the recent by-elections in the region are anything to go by.
Despite the rift, Waiguru is optimistic that the region will vote towards what their spokesperson President Uhuru would dictate.
Former Kathiani MP Wavinya Ndeti recently warned the Mt Kenya region to vote wisely in the 2022 General Election saying it would make the region more than 100 years to reclaim the presidency if they let it go.
“You have had the presidential seat for many years. You even have the seat now but you are not respecting it. What do you want? If you keep joking you will stay out of government for 100 years,” she warned.
Her remarks come barely weeks after former Meru governor Peter Munya warned the Mt Kenya region of a loss in the 2022 General Election if the region does not unite.
“If we want to be in the next government, we must remain united with our counterparts. If we are split we will not make it alone (in the 2022 General Election),” he said.
